Rotary expansion-engine.



No. 7|o,7n. Patented ont. 7, |902.-

n. s. PHILIPS. ROTARY EXPANSION ENGINE.

(Application fld Dec. 24,. 1901A (Ilo Model.)

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ROBERT SYERS PHILIPS, OF OIIILLICOTHE, MISSOURI.

ROTARY EXPANSION-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of' Letters Patent No. 710,711, dated October 7, 1902.

Application filed December 24, 1901. Serial No. 87,086. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern: Y

Beit known that I, ROBERT SYEES PHILIPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chillicothe, in the county of Livingston and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Expansion- Engines for Gas, Steam, or Gasolene; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has relation to motors or engines, and more particularly to a rotary eX- pansion-engine designed to be actuated by any form of pressure, as steam, gas, or the like; and it consists of certain novel features of combination and construction of parts, the preferred form whereof will be clearly set forth in the following` specification, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, made a part of this application.

The object of my invention is to provide a rotary engine of the character specified the parts whereof may be very cheaply manufactured and assembled in their respective operative positions and which will be found to be very reliable and efficient in developing a maximum power at the expense of a minimum pressure, inasmuch as provision is made for the exhaust of steam, gas, air, or other liquid-pressure employed, which will in no wise interfere with the operation of the movable parts.

Other objects and advantages will be made clearly apparent from the following specification.

In the accompanying drawings, -Figure lis a vertical section, taken on a median line, of the casing and the interior or working parts of my improved motor. Fig. 2 is a central section taken at right angles to that line of division presented in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a detail, partly in section, showing the position of the valves of my engine at the initial eX- haust. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of my iniproved engine complete.

In order to conveniently designate the various elements of my invention and accessories deemed necessary to illustrate a practical use thereof, numerals will be employed, of Whichl indicates the base portion of my improved engine, formed in any preferred Way and of any desired material, thoughpreferably casting of some suitable metal, sc as to provide the circular housing 2, within which I mount `the movable parts of my improved motor.

It will be understood that the exterior casing may be formed in any preferred Way, though for the purpose of conserving the use of metal employed in the construction of the casing the upper portion of the sides of the casing may be broken away, thus leaving the movable or interior parts to a large extent visible through said opening. I also provide the integral or otherwise-constructed bearing seat or` standard 3, having the shaft 4 and the shaft-retaining cap 5, held in place by suitable bolts 6, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Within the housing 2 thus orotherwise constructed I mount the rotatable member 7, which is keyed or otherwise securely attached to the shaft 4 and rotates therewith. The member 7 is provided upon each edge with the flanges 8, which extend snugly in engagement with the contiguous part of the casing 2, and in order to make the joint thus formed absolutely air and steam tight I dispose the expanding packing-rings 9 upon the inner side of said l'langes,and upon the outer side of said flanges I likewise dispose the eX- panding packing-rings lO, held in place by the retaining-ring 1l, which is seated in an annular recess provided in theouter side of said packing-ring and a contiguous surface of the casing 2, as will be .clearly seen byreference to the drawings. The member or body portion 7, with-its accompanying flanges, being concentrically mounted. upon the shaft 4, it is obvious that the peripheral faces oreX- treme outer edges of the flanges 8 will always be in contact with the contiguous wall of the casing. It becomes desirable to provide that the annular space between the lianges 8 shall be of a varying degree of depth,and to accomplish this I dispose as an integral part of the body portion the concentrically-disposed band l2, which may be readily formed as an integral part of the walls of the member' 7, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2. Itis .therefore obvious that while the member 7 with respect to its flanges 8 is concentrically mounted upon the shaft 4 the band 12, connecting the Walls of the member 7 together, is eccentric- IOO ally mounted upon said shaft in order to accommodate for an expansion of the steam and subsequent exhaust thereof through the exhaust-port 13, the inlet-port being designated by the numeral 14. t I so form the connecting-band or eccentric 12 at a given point on its periphery with a valve seat or pocket 15, designed to accommodate theoscillating valve 16, held pivotallyin position upon the rod 17,

extending from side to side of the member 7. In order to render the valve 16 light and responsive to Ithe performance of its ofce,I provide the partition 18 to limit the introduction of steam within the valve, while designed to coperate with said partition Wall is the spring-lip 19, so disposed as to at all times lie in snug contact'with the contiguous inner face of the casing 2, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Corresponding to the pocket 15 in the rotating member 7 is the pocket or extension 20,formed,preferably,in the upper part of the casing between the ports 13 and 14,and within the valve-seat 2O thus provided I dispose the valve 21,likewise provided with the partitionwall 22 to aiford a hollow space against the entrance of steam and in order to render the valve light as may be consistent with efficiency. I also provide the valve 21 with the spring-lip 23, and I pivotally mount the valve upon the rod 24,extending into suitable apertures provided in a contiguous part of the casingvhereby the valve 21 will have a pivotal or oscillating movement on said rod incident to its operation. I have indicated the dead or hollow spaces in the valves by the numeral 25, the partitions 18 and 22 limiting the movement of the steam in each respective valve.

The motive force, as steam7 air, gas, or the like, is introduced through the port 14 and will operate to throw down the spring-lip 23 tightly against the peripheral face of the eccentric 12 and at the same time enter between the partition 1S and the lip 19, thereby inducing the rotation of the member 7, and it is obvious that the exhaust of the steam in the annular space in advance of the valve 16 is provided for by the exhaust-port 13. The live steam or other pressure employed will thus positively exert itself upon the Valve16 until said valve shall have passed the exhaust-port 13, as will be obvious by reference to the drawings, and the impetus imparted to the rotating member 7 will ofcourse be amply sufiicient to carry the valve 16 through the space between the exhaust and inlet ports, when the live steam or other pressure employed will again exert its force upon said valve. The limited helpless or dead point between said ports may be fully compensated for and overcome by the use of two cylinders properly divided by expansion-rails, each movable part being so-set upon a common shaft that the valves carried thereby will insure adirect and positive action of the motive force, thereby dispensing with all dead-centers and making it wholly unnecessary to depend upon momentum alone to carry the valves into an operative position.

lVhile I have described the preferred construction and combination of elements deemed necessary in materializing my invention, I wish to comprehend in this application all substantial equivalents and substitutes that may be considered as falling fairly within the scope of my invention, and I therefore do not wish to be confined strictly to the exact showing herein presented.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described rotary engine comprising a suitable casing; a rotating member having a fixed driving-shaft concentrically mounted in said casing and having an annular groove in its peripheral face the bottom of said groove being eccentric with respect to said shaft; a valve-seat formed in the casing and also in said grooved face of said rotating member; in combination with bodily-movable valves located in each of said seats and cooperating with each other whereby the valve carried by the rotating member will receive the force of the steam, air, gas or the like while the other valve will prevent all backward movement thereof and thereby induce the rotation of the driving-shaft, all combined substantially as .specified and for the purpose set forth.

2. A rotary engine comprising a suitable housing or exterior casing; a rotary member having a iixed shaft mounted in said casing; flanges carried by each edge of said rotating member and a connecting-band joining said flanges and eccentrically vdisposed in respect to the shaft whereby an annular space of varying depth will be left between said band and exterior casing, in combination with a bodily-movable valve located in said annular space and having means to check the iiow of steam or the like past said valve and a contiguous part of the casing and suitable means to limit the backward iow of the steam or other motive force whereby the steam or the like in advance of the moving valve will be exhausted from the exterior casing without impeding the movement of said valve, all combined substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a rotary engine, a suitable exterior casing; a driving-shaft suitably mounted in said casing; a rotating member keyed to said shaft; said rotating member having upon each edge of its peripheral face a valve extending in engagement with the casing; suitable expanding packing-rings located to prevent the escape of steam between said valves and casing; an annular space located in the peripheral face of the rotating member between said anges, said space having a graduated depth, in combination with a valve located in said annular space and having a lip adapted to extend across said annular space IOO IIO

ISO

and reach in engagement with a Contiguous part of the casing, and a complementary valve pivotally disposed in a suitable seat provided in the casing and having a springr lip or par tition extending in engagement with the bottom of said annular` space and preventing a backward movement of the steam or the like whereby the rotary member will be driven continuously forward and suitable means to exhaust the steam in advance of the valve carried by the rotary member, substantially as specified and for he purpose set forth.

4. In rotary engines, a valve comprising a pivoted member 16 having a curved face adapted to t a corresponding seat and further having a partition 1S and a spring-lip 19 all Combined for the purpose specified and as set forth.

5. The herein-described rotaryengine oomprising a suitable fixed easing or housing com bined with an interior rotating member havinga driving-shaft keyed thereto; an annular groove provided in the peripheral face of said rotating member and complementary bodily* movable valves having spring-lips carried by the easing and by said rotating member adapted to direct the steam whereby the force thereof will be applied directly to the work of driving the rotating member continuously forward and limiting the backward movement of the steam all combined substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT SYERS PHILIPS. Witnesses J. S. BLAINE, J. H. TANNER. 

